1. Field
The present invention relates to an information processing device, an information processing method, and a computer program to which a virtual technique is applied and which can provide operation virtually as a plurality of devices.
2. Description of the Related Art
An application program (hereinafter also referred to as application) is typically provided for each operating system (hereinafter referred to as OS).
Conventionally, one information processing device often has only one OS operated thereon, and in such a case, a user has to use different OSs of information processing devices for different applications used.
There is a system which makes a plurality of applications cooperate with each other to provide one service.
Such a system has a configuration that one application operates using an execution result of another application such that operation as the whole system is achieved.
If all applications can be executed by the same OS in such a system, the service can be provided by a single information processing device.
However, if applications are designed for different OSs, a plurality of information processing devices are required corresponding to the respective applications.
Accordingly, virtual techniques have become popular in which one information processing device is logically divided such that it can acts as a plurality of virtually independent information processing devices (virtual machines) (for example, see Japanese Patent-Laid Open No. 2005-157786).
Since operations of a plurality of virtual machines are implemented by a single information processing device as described above, the single information processing device can provide a system implemented by cooperation of a plurality of applications executed on different OSs.
In addition, by this configuration, operational cost of the system can be reduced compared to the system using a plurality of information processing devices.
As microprocessor technologies improve, a virtual technique as described above is more often applied not only to a super computer and a server computer but also to a personal computer (hereinafter referred to as PC).
Since different OSs execute respective applications in an information processing device using the virtual technique, an operating environment of each application do not affect an operating environment of a different application.
In addition, since abnormal termination of one OS does not affect an application executed by another OS, system quality can be improved.